Fourth Quarter Review

–Mike Nolan said in today’s news conference that the offensive line has played well the last month. However, for three quarters they were dominated by the Rams linebackers, who were too quick and athletic for them. The line deserves tremendous credit for how they protected during the last three drives, which accounted for 182 yards when you consider a sack for 4 yards and a false start penalty. Adam Snyder, who struggled in the first half, was brilliant in the fourth quarter, although he was helped by Dilfer constantly stepping up in the pocket.

–Larry Allen is one of the best trippers in the league – a Hall of Fame tripper. When Allen started losing his grip on Claude Wroten, he hauled off and kicked Wroten in the shin. Wroten went down like a shot.

-I wrote earlier that Gore is not the same player and isn’t seeing the cutback lane. It might be that Gore can see it, but just can’t make the cut to get there with his sprained ankle.

-By not going down with 16 seconds left, a stunt that was called a “brain fart” by Nolan, Vernon Davis didn’t cost the 49ers any time. The clock was stopped so officials could briefly discuss whether Davis fumbled, so no time was wasted.

-Trent Dilfer did well to fire to the end zone the first two times on the 49ers’ second-to-last drive. But he got greedy on 3rd-and-10 from the 28. Needing a first down, Dilfer went to the end zone again, throwing a pass behind Darrell Jackson who was double-covered.

-In the fourth quarter, Dilfer even hatched a passing strategy. He fired four out of five passes in cornerback Tye Hill’s direction and got 17 yards out of the deal.

-Why wasn’t safety Corey Chavous called for not allowing Bryan Gilmore to get up with an official standing right over him? In theory, if the 49ers get that call, they are throwing their last desperation pass from the Rams’ 6 not the 21.